The Home Machinist!

Nice lathe! Is that a Smart and Brown follow rest? I have one just like it, no idea what it came from. I'm reserving it for my 10EE, but it will need a minor mod for the mounts. I don't have any advice that's not already been given, but I'll agree the material should be something that machines well,...

Not an expert! From the size, I would guess at 3-5 hp. As it's shaftless, you'll need some caps to get it started. Then use a clamp on ammeter to see what the idle current is. Someone here will have a good idea what percentage of current a motor will draw at idle as compared to full load - I'd guess...

It probably depends on the operating system your computer uses. On mine (Windows 7), you hold down CTRL and hit the + button or - button to change the display size. That zooms in everything, not just the font.

Can't say as I know, but I would think the runout needs to be less than the clearance between valve guide and stem. The closer you can get it, the better!

I had one of those common off shore dividing heads that I modified slightly to do compound dividing. It was a dozen years ago, so I don't remember the holes used, but it was to make a 127 hole dividing plate. The mod was simply a hacksaw blade sized spring steel arm with a pin mounted to the side of...

I've had a mini-lathe for over 25 years. It's highly modified, but it's been a useful machine - and I still use it even though I have 3 other lathes. I cannot see it working at all with a milling attachment. Even a boring bar is an iffy proposition, the carriage is just too light to be applying forc...

Pretty sure he means he doesn't have 3 ph in his shop. It is probably very easy to swap the motor out with a single phase, though the VFD is likely the better option. Takes a bit of work to figure out how to wire the lathe controls to the VFD, but it makes a nice conversion. Or you just use the VFD ...

I used to have the same machine. Dual controls, so you can stand in front or behind the table. Feed selection on the fly with just a crank of the speed handle to the next gear. Rapids in all three directions. It's a pretty nice mill to run. I liked the feeds so much that I built a drive for my verti...

I like Robertson - drove at least 5000 of them putting on a new roof over the last couple months. Hate Philips when used with anything requiring any real torque - particularly when disassembling tight fasteners. I'd like torx better if I could find the right screwdriver easier - but that's not the f...

Excellent and well documented write-up of a very professional job, Grant! Looking forward to seeing what this tracer can do - I've always thought I'd like a small one too, but they don't seem to be very common! Thanks for taking the time!

I grew up on a farm. The rule was pretty simple - dog kills chickens, dog gets killed. They won't stop. They do it for entertainment, not food. You can trap it, send it back to it's owner or whatever. But the first chance it gets, it will be back killing your chickens. Yeah it sucks, but so does los...

I'll guess you're only boring to about an inch and a half depth max before you're through the hub. Most cost effective will be to grind it out of a stick of 5/8" or even 1/2" HSS. Your surface speed is low with the smallish diameter, should last just fine. Alternatively, make two bars, one...